Category Archives: Backgrounds

IGBCE (“Industriegewerkschaft Bergbau, Chemie, Energie”) and Verdi are two large unions “representing” German coal and power plant workers that continue to support and be responsible for coal extraction deepening the scope of the climate crisis. With Climate Change denying being less wide-spread in Europe than in US their response instead is to accuse people raising the issue of being “ignorant and arrogant”. This occurred at the first meeting of those Unions and Climate Activists that just took place at Climate Camp in Rhineland. more…

The initial euphoria of coal industry dominated Coal Commission to address the issue of German Coal Exit has been replaced by German Federal Republic forming a mirror image of Trumps administration with its Climate Denying stepping out of international climate agreements and obligations and instead attempting to put in place massive subsidies that will keep toxic and destructive lignite industry going even further despite it not even being able to compete on its own with falling prices of renewables.

As the Commission convened the German Environmental minister Svenja Schulze announced that the agreed to 2020 reductions of CO2 will not be met. Shielding Coal and fossil fuel industry and the Coal Comission from pressure and responsibility for effects of Climate Change with Global South disproportionately suffering the consequences. Further subsidizing this failing industry and allowing it to continue its destruction of habitats, communities and climate by calling for massive “restructuring” assistance. Trump’s, recently blocked, subsidies to closing, failing and unprofitable coal and nuclear power plants attempted to do the same by framing the discussion in terms of energy security with the false narrative of renewable as being unreliable source of energy. The German state support and financial assistance to industries that the same government agreed to scale back and transition from acknowledging the global scope of Climate Change emergency is significant in how the Neo-Liberal profit based regimes are transitioning to even higher levels of corruption and lack of transparency in which even the capitalist profit based principles can not continue to function on their own without a mass appropriation of public resources for profit of the very few on the corporate and governmental top at the cost of sacrificing stability of the planet’s climate and its future as a whole. Late Ultra-Liberal Disaster Corporate-Welfare Capitalism is here: RWE for example has last year only made “profit” for the first time in last 3 years due to 4.5 billion tax refund(in effect a hidden subsidy) for their nuclear power plants whose upkeep is already being subsidized.

The make up and structure of the Coal Commission continues to deny and distance decision-making process from the effect of climate change by being presided over by 3 former pro-coal presidents of coal mining regions, and by one former industry energy “transition” think tank executive with one participant of heavily vested in fossil industry Deutsche Bahn, German Railways,setting up an agenda of calling for “financial cushioning” of shutting down of coal industry that the commission is attempting to delay to 2030-2050 and then only with those massive payouts involved. Not just the german public, which is in favor of coal exit, but the whole global population affected by RWE’s and Vatenfall’s massive coal usage and co2 emissions is being held hostage by Coal and its affiliated politicians. As high temperatures and droughts rage with coal, oil and gas industries flexing their muscle of influence and disinformation to demand more resources for more extraction of combustibles so they can continue to feed the blaze of run away climate change. Smoke Screen of “The jobs” narrative is repeatedly used instead, using the 30 thousand jobs in coal mining as a bargaining chip, without mention or inclusion of representatives of over 120 thousands involved in renewable industry in the working of the commission. Not included also are members of any other German opposition parties present in German politics within the commission which is solely dominated by CDU/CSU, SPD insiders whose strategy of competing for votes with far right nationalist AFD parties is to embrace some of their issues and appeal by becoming more right wing and conservative, this is the case not just with immigration but also especially with embracing Coal as a traditional German industry. This informal alliance extends also to repression of Hambacher Forest activists, calling for climate justice and immediate coal exit, as terrorists. AFD has made protecting German Coal and “jobs” one of their key issues another one is elimination of left and radical autonomous centers, projects and struggles. This narrative is also embraced by coal industry and Herber Reul, interior/police chief of North Rhine Westphalia a Rhine Rnergie advisor and Armin Laschet NRW president and also coal industry insider and supporter. Calling for and organizing massive police actions against Hambacher Forest activists fear mongering regularly not about the effects of climate change but about left wing extremism while even the official estimates place the number of right extremists at 3 times the number of those on the left. Another parallel of the Trump regime violently repressing opposition to pipeline and fossil fuel extraction projects with disproportionate police forces and sentences classifying those protecting communities, ecosystems and climate from violent destruction as a threat to public(read: profit) safety.

The 2 degree climate warming danger area entered now do to “business as ussuall” mentality of full co-option of the political structures by fossil industry signifies entering a run away climate change territory: Run away climate change that will not just be irreversible but is the begging of an upward exponential spiral of temperature increases of 10-15 degree climate warming that will result in massive water level rise, loss of arctic and antarctic ice cover and cause extinction of most life as we know it. Issues not present in Commission outward statement with only one climate expert among 26 industry affiliated representatives.

“No Jobs on the Dead Planet” and “System Change not Climate Change” is now gaining not just deeper than ever significance but becoming a daily reality, reality that not only goes on unopposed by is enforcde by the political structures and governments.

Hambi Bleibt! Hambi Stays! Stays as a global and historical testimony that when the planet is pushed off the edge not just by opportunistic political constructs but also by their tanks and helicopters and their prisons there were and continue to be people that said “No More”: “Basta!” And who continue to resist the Disaster Capitalism narrative. How long and how much pressure the resistance continue to exert depends on all reading this and becoming active and supporting the Hambach Forest occupation and other indigenous and anti-extractionist climate Justice struggles world wide.

Cologne’s District President Gisela Walsken (SPD) emphasized – in view of the start of negotiations by the Coal Commission – that 2040 would be fiercely defended as the end date for lignite mining. “We know that the coal stream is running out. Nevertheless, we will not sacrifice security of supply prematurely for short-term questions of energy policy.”*

Aachener Nachrichten a newspaper known for its anti-activist and pro-RWE bias has outdone itself once again. In a narrative very much reminescent of positevely spinning untried CO2 sequestration and climate reversing dangerous geo-engineering schemes, the paper has acknowledged that there is a problem with resettled RWE-Coal-refugees not having enough new land to farm on after their old farms were destroyed by mining. Aachener Nachrichten admitts to this being a problem and immediately follows with seemingly brillian solution being put in place presently by RWE. It appears that the company is transporting mineral rich loess from the Garzweiler mine to the Hambach mine where a 260-metre-long tipping track called the “loess bunker” has been constructed. From that particular bunker it will be taken by truck till 2022 with about 10 acres a year being resurfaced. 10 acres a year is tiny portion compared to the thousands irreversibly destroyed and trillions more destablilized to climate change.
This narrative continues the well establish strategy of informing the populace that a problem does exists and immediately calming any unease by following it with a false solution. Speaking of which it has been awhile since there has been much talk of the other previous wonder solution, previously mentioned, that is carbon sequestration. To keep the charade going perhaps it could be suggested to Aachener Nachrichten that a new article could be written in which being fully on the way of reaching the 2 degree warming singnifying entering run away climate change is really not a problem as RWE is solving this PR dillema by oppening a carbonated water plant in which all the megatons of CO2 produced by the company will be turned into fizzy water. That this is already happening to the oceans increasing their acidity and killing marine life should not be mentioned unless another possibility is offered to desalinify the oceans and bottle resulting water instead. Mmmmm now if only some of the toxic waste stream from coal production could be turned into hard alcohol to mix in with the soda water the problem could be completly solved by getting the global populaton too drunk to notice dissapearing farmlands and glaciers, rising water levels and now yearly droughts and temperature records.

RWE: “We don’t just f*ck up the planet, we also implement even more f*cked up schemes to convince you that we don’t.”

* The quote at the beggining is very reminescent of attempting to figure out policy of opposing regimes by reading in between the lines of their official statements. This statement also contains an ideological fierceness like in the struggle of Capitalism vs Communism during the cold war. Now its fossill industry and friends vs the Planet. 2040 coal exit would not only be catastrophic to the planet making sure that the 2 degree threshold is crossed but it also implies that the coal commission will ask for a heavy bail out if it compromises for 2030 coal exit or will not even comitt to 2040 exit without such bail outs and subsidies either. In other words not only should any thought of necessary not just for hambis survival but also for a livable planet 2020 coal exit be burried deep down but also its executioner should be paid in exchange.

On 28.06.2018, the Hambach Forest between Cologne and Aachen was cleared of barricades. Some people from the movement would like to make a press statement.

At 9:15 the police entered the forest. The contact officer had previously called and informed us that there will be a large-scale police operation to clear the access routes of RWE forces, under the protection of the police. Furthermore, it was announced that RWE forces will confiscate “dangerous items” if necessary. What then followed went far beyond that. There were transgressions not only of interpersonal but also of legal limits, so that in our view the action must once again be regarded as a targeted attempt to provocate and divide the movement. Once again, facts are distorted to justify the incidents to the public.

The press release of the Aachen police says:

“In addition to RWE’s barricade clearances, the forest floor was also inspected off the paths. Employees of the responsible authorities (Kolpingstadt Kerpen, Gemeinde Merzenich, Rhein-Erft- Kreis) and the police jointly assessed all objects found as bulky waste. These included plastic tarpaulins, pallets, wood, metal poles and old furniture. On behalf of the responsible regulatory authorities, RWE transported a total of 140 m³ of refuse in over 17 trucks today alone”.

We want to make a correction here:

Tearing down sleeping and storage areas (tents, constructions, etc.), declaring them as bulky waste and then carting them out of the forest is a farce that is unacceptable. In the course of “barricade clearance” in search of “dangerous objects”, structures were deliberately destroyed and subsequently presented as “garbage” in the press report of the Aachen police.

Another quote from the press release of the Aachen police:

“In the interests of transparency, an attempt was also made to enter into dialogue with the residents of the Meadow, but talks were rejected.

It must be made clear that the police have illegally gained access to the legal meadow camp. The police justified the breach of the law with the “execution of danger”. In a situation where police hundreds gain access to people’s private rooms and then demand communication, the behaviour of the meadow dwellers is more than legitimate.

Aachen Police:

“But it must be clear to everyone that the forest must be freely and above all safely accessible to everyone and that if disruptions and crimes occur, the officials will continue to intervene consistently!”

The forest is accessible to all civilians at all times, in contrast to the statement of the Aachen police, we are happy about conversations and discussions. The barricades are usually portrayed as dangerous but they primarily serve to protect the forest, to make clearing more difficult, and to protect against arbitrary violence by the police and the security company Mundt commissioned by RWE.

To the topic why we don’t want the police in the forest, there was already a detailed article on our blog.

Another situation:

“A puppy dog ran to the contact policeman during the evacuation work, who assured the activists by telephone that they could pick him up without police control. Here with it came with the collection of the puppy to a break of this promise and the activist was held over 90min by the police with handcuffs. And was only allowed to leave again after providing personal details.”

Note: It is consensus in the Hambacher Forest not to maintain contact with the Police. People doing so were asked to leave. The “institution” of contact policeman has been established after years of public critique of Forestry Ministry and Law enforcement for not engaging forest activists in discussion. It has been put in place only after events in which forest activists have been seriously injured, including by a moving vehicle by RWE security and consists of calling Hambacher Forest published numbers 15 minutes as the police is already on the way, before their appearance in the forest. Contact cops are not just “good cop” PR tools but also intelligence assets in charge of contacts and extracting information from anybody willing to talk to them. They are not legally obligated to honor any promises they make and often will say anything towards a strategic end in sight. Like for example doing everything possible that RWE continues to profit by wrecking our Planet. So much for public safety!

Immerath, Kuckum, Keyenberg, Lutzerath are in the process of being destroyed by RWE and joining a list of over 24 villages and towns erased as if they never existed just for the Gartzweiler mine with over 50 more having been demolished in the region. The local villagers are not consulted or included on any of the resettlement committees that are constantly filled by the outsiders, their schools are not rebuild in the new locations forcing the parents to transport their children to neighboring towns. more…

Support UP III who is now after 68 days of detention without trial and conviction, after having support mail from outside not delivered for two month, after having visits subjected to strict approval process with many being denied, after going through all of this crap that is regularly faced exclusively by non-german speaking forest activists (strong overtones of legal and State xenophobia and nationalism) is now facing an “Age Test” declared by German Medical Association as having no medical merit and as being unethical. This Pseudo-Scientific “test” with inescapable overtones of sexual perversion constitutes forcing the prisoner to not only strip naked but to also have photos of their sexual development taken by a “medical professional” who then submits them as part of the court records.

Most of us arrested for protecting and defending millenarian Hambach Forest from RWE climate killing lignite have been subjected to being strip searched by having to take all of our clothes in front of at least 3 cops. This has become a time when not only inappropriate jokes, sexist comments and commentary has taken place but also during the Bonner Strasse Protests in city of Cologne when two prisoners were also physically assaulted at that vulnerable time. more…

Before RWE began to destroy the forest, it was still called Bürgewald, a “Commons” Forest administered by local municipalities. The change of name to Hambacher Forst by RWE also served to hide the long history of the forest and its importance as one of the oldest forests in Germany.[In german the word Forst indicates a planted, exploited industrial forest as opposed to the word Wald which indicates self-planted wilder ecosystem] Here follows a rough outline of the history of the Hambi:

12,000 years ago as the last ice age in Central Europe came to an end and the ice-cover retreated, more…

“Environmental” Minister of North Rhine Westphalia, Christina Schulze Föcking has just been forced to resign over a shit-storm of a scandal having to do with severe animal abuse recorded by animal rights activists who broke into her family pig farm(run by her husband) at night.

A little background that is excellent also in explaining why a largest single CO₂ dumping conglomerate in Europe, RWE, can continue to operate with full impunity in NRW not only shielded from any legal consequences of causing global climate calamity but also influences the local government enough to have multi million Europe repressive police operations protecting its interests and the resistors are locked in jail for months without access to evidence against them, and if they do not speak German all their mail is blocked isolating them even more. more…

In November 2012, an activist with an elaborate tunnel entrenchment in the Hambach Forest ended the silence surrounding the deforestation of this formerly gigantic forest area in the city triangle, Cologne, Dusseldorf and Aachen, which had been in operation since 1972. Far beyond the local borders, the clearing of the ancient Hambach forests by the energy company RWE became known. Today only 10% of this forest is left. Activists from various groups had set themselves the task of making the Rhenish lignite mining area a focal point for the fight against coal-fired power generation. more…

Last week the annual RWE share-holders meeting took place with numerous protest actions taking place inside of the event, outside of the convention center and through out Essen. Numerous activists groups converged from around Germany, Europe and far away places such as Columbia and Siberia where RWE Blood Coal is being extracted with thousands dying(over 5000 killed in Columbia by Paramilitaries openly paid by RWE’s contractors Prodeco and Anadarco)
Several people were detained from a street action group staging a performance in front of the convention center and released. Numerous activist also delivered and displayed large Red Cards for RWE inside of the meeting. There was also a RWE critical discussion in front of Essen City Hall. more…